Design Principles/ Project 1: Self-Portrait

18.01.2022 - 30.01.2022 (Week 3-4)

Janaan Ahmed (0353333) / B'Des Creative Media

Design Principles

PROJECT 1: SELF-PORTRAIT

Idea Exploration

Visual Research

Process

Final Outcome

Feedback

Reflection

Lectures

Week 3

The 18th (Tuesday) was a holiday so there was no session. Thursday's class began with a final discussion of our exercises before Dr. Charles briefed us on our Project 1 (Self-Portrait).

When creating a design, it is crucial to familiarise yourself with the user (company, client, network, etc) and keep their requirements in mind. In this case, the user is simply our own selves. Dr.Charles advised to ask the right questions so that one can come up with a design that's relevant to the need and requirement.

Sounds easy to pull off in theory, however looking within is not exactly an easy feat, in my opinion. How does one even begin to define themselves? What exactly is the self in the first place? We're never the same person at any point in time, and so the concept of self is ever changing.

Fig. 1.1: Screenshot from Dr. Jinchi's lecture slides

What is it that makes each of us, a unique identity? Our culture, experiences, values, memories, or subjective perceptions of the world perhaps. Not to mention, our genetic code/DNA even. Add in the external perceptions of our selves by other people to the mix, and maybe even the choices we make reflect part of the self too. One could go on really, because there are so many facets to it.

We could explore the spiritual, mental, and/or physical aspects of ourselves. Or use a personality map/test/quiz, include our hobbies or interests. We could narrow it down and specifically focus on/emphasize one aspect of ourselves as well. There are many ways to go about creating a self-portrait.

We were encouraged to come up with a concept first, and to see what principles best emerged from them. The principles could then be used to best serve the purpose/message that's meant to be portrayed in our composition.

Dr. Charles shared his personality map just to give an example, and even did a live demo of how he might go about making his self-portrait.

Instructions

We are required to create a self-portrait by consciously applying the design principles that we have learned about.

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Task: Self-Portrait

IDEA EXPLORATION:

I spent some time reflecting on myself, reading parts of my journal, and looking through some old pictures and conversations. Making a mind-map helped to put all my thoughts down.

Fig. 2.1: personality mind-map

Growing up, I never felt like I belonged anywhere, and felt rejected most of the time. A lot of my experiences with social anxiety lead me to believe that my inherent being was not good enough. So I gradually spiraled into a cycle of comparison, self-hatred and depression.

I've felt stuck in my struggle, watching for years as other people seemingly flourished and moved on with their lives. I grew to resent my past and my self, and obsessively ruminated over my issues with abandonment. It was frustrating, not being able to change the cement of history and time. In a nutshell, it was hard to digest what life had seemingly cursed me with, and I had a hard time coming to terms with my past.

In that sense, I've felt like a late-bloomer because of how long it takes for me to process things. Sure, maybe we shouldn't attach timelines to things and move at our own pace. But I'm not gonna lie and say I didn't feel pressured to live up to societal expectations. Of course it did take me a a long time to develop this much healthier perspective about the world and its workings. And I am a lot more appreciative of and non-judgemental towards myself now. But I suppose this is part of what I meant to portray as well- that I wouldn't have evolved to be at a better place if I hadn't gone through any hardship.

My idea of using flowers stemmed from something my cousin sister said about me a few years back. She had said that I was 'the personification of a daisy', which to me is extremely meaningful. It is one of the most touching things I've ever heard about myself. I find it to be a beautiful metaphor to describe a person. What another makes of the meaning is subjective, I suppose. But I believe that it means to be full of life, to evoke feelings of goodness, and to radiate a gentle softness.

With that, I though it might be interesting to juxtapose my self-loathing and pain, with the positive aspects of myself that I find hard to accept at times.

VISUAL RESEARCH:

Since Dr. Charles mentioned that we could experiment with any medium, I was kind of inspired to make something 3-D. I chose to base my work on clay sculpting. Since I wasn't too familiar with working with air-dry clay, I went on to do some research and watched some YouTube tutorials.

These are the 2 main ones I referred to:

Fig. 2.2: tutorial video 1

Fig. 2.3: tutorial video 2

PROCESS:

Here are my initial sketches:

Fig. 2.4: Initial Sketches

I was unsure with which one to go with, however after our feedback session, I decided to proceed with design #2.

Fig. 2.5: notes on internal supporting structure

Denise observantly pointed out that the base looked a bit unstable in terms of the mechanics, which I definitely overlooked (ahah!). Dr. Charles agreed and mentioned that perhaps adding some more flowers or curved branches could help stabilise the centre of gravity.

Fig. 2.6: final design sketch and notes

Made some alterations, and finalised the colour palette so I could begin sculpting. I also thought to include some mushrooms to symbolise regeneration and rebirth.

A more detailed explanation on the significance of fungi in my design is included in Fig. 2.6.

I first worked on the internal frame/ wire armature to create a place-hold for the clay.

Fig. 2.7: Materials

Fig. 2.8: Wire Frame

Had to make do with what I had, so I repurposed an unused sponge to anchor the wire frame.

Fig. 2.9: Armature with altered head

Covered the wire frame with aluminium foil to add reinforcement + form.

Fig. 2.10: Attached head

Added some texture to the hair while the clay was wet.

Fig. 2.11: reinforcement with more wire and foil

Fig. 2.12: Sculpting with clay

Fig. 2.13: Painting progress 1

Fig. 2.13: Painting progress 2

The light-green budding was a late addition that I thought of to further illustrate the idea of 'life' and a blooming plant. Perhaps a sense of unity + acceptance is conveyed as well.

Fig. 2.14: Painting progress 3

The mushrooms kept falling off after drying, and there was some cracking (because of uneven drying + temperature I assume), so instead, I had to separately attach them using super glue, after painting them of course. Unfortunately it was at this point that I remembered to create texture lines in the petals, but it was too late.

Fig. 2.15: Painting progress 4

I didn't know what colours to use for the mushrooms at the base at first, and was worried that the brightness would diverge the attention from the main intended focal point- the face. BUT! I suddenly recalled how I could utilize the principle of repetition to also lead the eye towards the upper portion. Making the mushrooms on the head yellow was also very deliberate as I knew that would create even better contrast. I also feel like the principle of similarity nicely ties the mushrooms at the base to the ones at the top. It is also meant to resemble a hibiscus as it is a flower that I associate with my country (Maldives). To finish off, I added some yellow lines at the neck to draw emphasis to the face.

FINAL OUTCOME:

Fig. 2.16: FINAL OUTCOME pic 1

Took some pictures with a turquoise background to make the figure 'pop' even more.

Fig. 2.17: FINAL OUTCOME pic 2

Fig. 2.18: FINAL OUTCOME pic 3

Fig. 2.19: FINAL OUTCOME GIF

Fig. 2.20: FINAL OUTCOME PDF

Feedback

(Design #2 initial sketch): There is a nice sense of flow and continuity with the branch-like structures wrapping around the figure. It is also a lot more impactful that the face is popping out of the flower, and makes for a more interesting design than the other sketches. Reinforcement would be needed to stabilise the centre of gravity. Adding some flowers to the base may help with that, along with some wire that spans across the entire figure. The goal is to make sure the final figure exactly matches the decided design. It would help to make a few sketches of the design in different angles/elevations.

Reflections

I came across many hurdles with this project, (mainly time, but also notedly my fingers getting superglued?!) however was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to troubleshoot any design problems that came up by referencing/consulting the design principles. For example, I originally planned to make the flower pink, however found that that didn't really draw the emphasis I wanted on the face. The other elements in the design seemed to overpower it. In the past, I may have tried to eyeball a suitable colour which would take ages of course. But this time, I knew that I specifically had to use some sort of contrast to draw the eye, which is why I chose the red for the flower. I tried to make my decisions very deliberate, and it has been very eye-opening to experience conscious design thinking for myself. I never would've approached any artwork like this before. I think I'm beginning to grasp the application of design principles, and feel like with more practice I'll get a lot better at integrating them into my work.

I am a bit disappointed in myself for not finishing on time even with the extended deadline, and recognise that it is something I need to majorly work on. I created a rough plan but only towards the end. Next project, I will create a structured plan/timeline.

References

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omgkb1FjcGs&ab_channel=PolymerClayArtist

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM9Zwav1Xjs&ab_channel=TheTerrainTutor

Janaan Ahmed (0353333)

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